Derived environment effects and logarithmic perception

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3765/amp.v5i0.4229

Keywords:

Derived Environment Effects, Optimality Theory, Perception

Abstract

Phonologically-derived environment effects (henceforth, PDEEs) describe patterns where a phonological process P applies only if accompanied by another phonological process P'. This paper proposed that PDEEs follow from the hypothesis that the input-output distance is perceived logarithmically: this predicts that a feature change may be less salient perceptually and therefore represent a smaller violation of faithfulness if accompanied by another feature change. This theory has two desirable consequences: (i) it reconciles the analysis of PDEEs with the hypothesis of a preference for minimal input-output changes in phonological grammar and (ii) it derives a number of constraints on the features that can interact in PDEEs, therefore providing a restrictive account of the typology.

Author Biography

  • Benjamin Storme, Structures Formelles du Langage (UMR7023, CNRS/Paris 8)
    post-doctoral researcher

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Published

2018-02-10

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Section

Supplemental Proceedings